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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -- Alex Rodriguez didn't rest well
after a poor performance. Instead, he stayed up late and watched
himself on videotape.
|  | | Alex Rodriguez watches his first-inning shot clear the right-field wall. |
"Let's just say I did a little homework," he said after
hitting two homers and driving in five runs to lead the Texas
Rangers over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 9-3 Thursday night.
"In a long season you have to review and revise some of things
you've done well and the things you haven't done well. I took some
time in the video room at the hotel and saw some good things. There
was a lot of positive reinforcement. You lock it into your brain
and go from there."
Rodriguez hit a two-run homer off Tanyon Sturtze (1-4) in the
first inning and added a three-run shot off Mickey Callaway in the
sixth for his fourth two-homer game this season.
Ten of his 17 homers have come in May, tying Juan Gonzalez's
club record for the month.
"You see him get his two, three, four hits every night to drive
in two or three runs and you get used to seeing it," Rangers
pitcher Rick Helling said. "I guess that shows you how special the
player is when you kind of take for granted the things that he
does."
Rodriguez went 3-for-4 with a walk, hiking his batting average
10 points to .330.
Helling (2-6), meanwhile, pitched eight solid innings, allowing
three runs and nine hits to win for the first time since April 22.
The right-hander walked one and struck out five as his earned-run average dropped
from 7.19 to 6.72.
"Obviously, numbers-wise it was my best outing of the year,"
Helling said. "I threw closer to like I usually throw. I think my
mechanics are getting closer to how they're supposed to be. I'm not
where I want to be yet, but I'm definitely closer. Tonight was a
step in the right direction."
Rodriguez made up for striking out three times and stranding
seven runners in a 10-6 loss to the Devil Rays on Wednesday night.
He has seven homers and 20 RBI in his last 13 games, and the
Rangers have homered in a club-record 17 straight games since May
6.
"It burned me a lot," Rodriguez said of striking out once with
the bases loaded and another time with a runner on third with Texas
trailing 7-6. "I take that stuff personal when I get an
opportunity to do some damage or put us ahead."
Texas scored twice in the first, fourth and fifth innings to
build a 6-2 lead.
Ken Caminiti and Ivan Rodriguez both had two-run doubles off
Sturtze, who allowed six runs and seven hits in five innings.
A-Rod's second homer made it 9-3 and gave him the 19th multihomer
game of his career.
Tampa Bay, which hasn't won consecutive games since April 24-25,
scored on Randy Winn's RBI double in the second, Greg Vaughn's 12th
homer in the fourth and a RBI single by Andy Sheets in the fifth.
"We hung in there and seemed to be building momentum," Devil
Rays manager Hal McRae said. "But the three-run homer in the sixth
inning did us in."
Game notes
Vaughn's homer moved him into a tie with Bobby Bonds for
70th on the career list with 332. He's No. 15 among active players
... Tampa Bay's Ben Grieve singled in the sixth inning to extend
his streak of reaching base to 31 consecutive games. It's the
longest such stretch in the AL since Manny Ramirez reached in 49
straight last July 29-Sept. 23 ... Alex Rodriguez has 29 RBI on
the road ... Texas 2B Randy Velarde left in the first inning with a
pulled left hamstring. He likely will have a MRI exam Friday ...
Rangers TV announcer Bill Jones remained hospitalized at Bayfront
Medical Center where tests determined he had appendicitis. He had
surgery Thursday night and is expected to remain in the hospital
until at least Saturday. ... Gonzalez hit 10 homers in May for
Texas in 1998 and 1999.
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RECAPS
NY Yankees 2
Boston 1
Baltimore 6
Anaheim 4
Cleveland 8
Detroit 5
Chi. White Sox 3
Toronto 1
Texas 9
Tampa Bay 3
St. Louis 7
Milwaukee 4
Chicago Cubs 3
Cincinnati 0
San Diego 3
Arizona 1
Philadelphia 6
Pittsburgh 5
NY Mets 11
Florida 3
San Francisco 5
Colorado 1
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